American Flange & Manufacturing Co., Inc.v.Rieke Corp.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 19, 2009

No. 91154680re (T.T.A.B. Mar. 19, 2009)

Mailed:
March 19, 2009
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UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
_____

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
______

American Flange & Manufacturing Co., Inc.
v.
Rieke Corporation
_____

Opposition No. 91153479
to Application Serial No. 75869942
filed on 12/13/1999

and

Opposition No. 91154680
to Application Serial No. 75869343
filed on 12/13/1999
_____

Corey M. Amron, William H. Oldach III and Peter A. Lusenhop
of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP for American Flange &
Manufacturing Co., Inc.

James A. Dimitrijevs and David B. Cupar of McDonald Hopkins
Co., LPA for Rieke Corporation.
______

Before Holtzman, Zervas and Walsh, Administrative Trademark
Judges.

Opinion by Walsh, Administrative Trademark Judge:

We rendered a final decision in these consolidated
opposition proceedings on June 5, 2006. American Flange &
Manufacturing Co. v. Rieke Corp., 80 USPQ2d 1397 (TTAB
2006). That decision was appealed to the United States
THIS DISPOSITION IS NOT
CITABLE AS PRECEDENT OF
THE TTAB
Opposition Nos. 91153479 & 91154680
2
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The
District Court has remanded the case to us to consider the
parties’ settlement agreement and a related joint motion by
the parties requesting (1) that we permit amendments to the
applications, as specified below, (2) that we withdraw our
decision of June 5, 2006, and (3) that we dismiss the
oppositions and allow the applications, as amended, to
proceed to registration.
With regard to the amendments to the applications,
consistent with the terms of the settlement agreement, the
parties request that we enter the following disclaimer in
both Application Serial Nos. 75869942 and 75869343:
No claim is made to the exclusive right to use the
hexagonal shape of the base of the closure apart from
the mark as shown.1

We hereby grant the parties’ joint motion.
Accordingly, we order entry of the disclaimer in each of the
applications, as specified above, we withdraw our decision
of June 5, 2006, and we dismiss the opposition proceedings.
Robert A. Johnston Company v. Ward Foods, Inc., 165 USPQ 480
(TTAB 1970); El Chico Cafe v. Senor Taco, Inc., 166 USPQ 159
(TTAB 1970). The registrations will issue in due course.

1 We have conformed the language suggested by the parties to the
standard format used by the USPTO in all disclaimers. We also
used the word “base” to be consistent with the existing wording
in the applications.